Southampton beat Leeds United for the third time at Wembley in the play-off final to secure a place in the Premier League, and Patrick Bamford has explained how they did it.
The Saints came into the game after a solid second-leg win over Carlos Corberan’s West Brom, and after beating Leeds both home and away during the regular season but Bamford’s Leeds were also confident.
While the striker was missing through injury, Leeds had produced a marvellous 4-0 win over Norwich in their semi-final second-leg. Leeds finished three points above Southampton in the Championship table.
It looked as though it would be equally matched at Wembley and it was, Leeds starting the brighter but Southampton stinging Daniel Farke’s side on the counter and Adam Armstrong scoring past Illan Meslier.
Bamford watched on from the sidelines and he has now broken his silence on the play-off final defeat at Wembley, on his My Mate’s A Football podcast. He explained how Southampton got the job done.
Bamford explains how Southampton beat Leeds in play-off final
Leeds had started brightly and unlike the attacking, possession-based Southampton side that Martin deployed all season, they played a bit differently at Wembley and allowed Leeds to dominate possession.
Indeed, they played on the counter which is something Leeds want to do themselves. It saw Leeds unable to break a solid Southampton down and instead, catch Leeds on the counter themselves. Bamford said:
“We started off really well, we had all the ball, but they had more know how and experience and defended well. They put bodies on the line, and until DJ hit the bar, it didn’t look like we were going to score.
“While we had the ball, they controlled the game. When it’s a final like that, it’s rare there is more than one goal because it’s quite cagey,” Bamford explained, stating Southampton had control without the ball.
Why Leeds fans can be confident of promotion next season
Leeds supporters might be somewhat concerned that the club are going to sell all their best players to meet the requirements of Financial Fairplay, while also seeing their parachute payments reduced.
But actually, there is plenty to be excited about. Yes, some players will go which is something Paraag Marathe has already admitted but Farke struggled in his first season at Norwich, before promotion.
That second-season bounce will suit Farke, while the quality of the three teams coming down is far less than that of Leicester and Southampton. Leeds will have a good chance, maybe a better chance, now.